no, its deeper and a little louder.
i can hear the expansion chamber thingy (pretty cool)
sounds great.
smooths out the power.
bottom end is better in my opinion. smoother
weight reduction is very noticeable
very very good bike for tight and technical woods riding

Wife is lusting after a 2012 TE250 at the local dealership (one of the short ones)...any problems with these bikes we should be concerned about?

i have a 2010, and that year definetly has starter issues. newer ones seem to be better, but still some complain. i mostly kick mine now (usually starts first kick). used to ride an 360cr left hand kicker, so this ones a snap compared to that .

Wife is lusting after a 2012 TE250 at the local dealership (one of the short ones)...any problems with these bikes we should be concerned about?

I am the aforementioned wife...still lusting...getting a little closer to pulling the trigger.
Everything I've read says that this is NOT a bike for and significant street riding mostly because of the narrow ratio transmission . Which is fine...eyes wide open on that front. I am curious about it otherwise. I'm not super experienced rider, but I'd like to get better. Will I be completely overwhelmed by this bike? Or will I be able to manage it as an advanced beginner? Anybody with seat time on one of these care to share their thoughts?

I am the aforementioned wife...still lusting...getting a little closer to pulling the trigger.
Everything I've read says that this is NOT a bike for and significant street riding mostly because of the narrow ratio transmission . Which is fine...eyes wide open on that front. I am curious about it otherwise. I'm not super experienced rider, but I'd like to get better. Will I be completely overwhelmed by this bike? Or will I be able to manage it as an advanced beginner? Anybody with seat time on one of these care to share their thoughts?

Thanks!

i will give you my thoughts based on a 2010 te250.

mine is geared COMPLETELY for offroad (12/52), and with that setup, i can attest it is not road worthy at all. on all the short connector roads for Pachaug trails, i feel like I am screaming down the road, when i am probably actually going 40.

but i don't expect this bike to be a daily commuter. it is a fantastic bike for offroad use. i am short (5' 8 1/2"), so opted for the koubalink, which is supposed to make the bike handle not as well. i noticed no difference at all (except that I became much more comfortable with it, and probably will take the link off this spring).

the bike has plenty of low end grunt (i have the jd power tuner - highly recommended). not sure how i feel about recommending it for an advanced beginner or not, although i am leaning that way. it is great for a beginner because it is light and very maneuverable (sp?), but you can also scare yourself with it. i had been away from dirt bikes for over 20 years (used to ride a husky 360CR). then bought a new Kawa klx250. that was a great dual sport, but found i was beating the crap out of it a Pachaug, and also killing myself trying to throw it around, with all its extra wait. bought the te250, and have no regrets at all

you are more than welcome to give it a try if you are ever in southern RI, or at pachaug.

Thanks. The 2012 comes lowered...which is nice. That and it's weight are primarily what appeal to me.

yes, i think that lowered version becomes about the same height as my TE with the 1" koubalink. the weight difference between the TE and the KLX was very noticable (that and the 17HP stock to 32 HP, if i recall the numbers correctly).

I hear you...I'm riding (when I actually ride) a lowered 99 DR350. Though it does have a 440 kit, so power isn't too bad. But I'm thinking the weight decrease would be nice. Not to mention real suspension.